Can an employer say it won’t hire smokers?

It’s becoming more and more common — companies that will not hire people who smoke cigarettes. It almost happened with the city of Fort Worth, but the City Council nixed the idea.

As the AP reported, “Human resources officials on Tuesday declined to recommend the ban, following weeks of reviewing public and private tobacco-use policies. Fort Worth, starting in 2014, will instead use incentives to encourage municipal employees who light up to stop smoking.”

Still, the issue is out there, because some employers just don’t want to deal with smokers or their higher health costs.

— Does that sound fair, or is this a form of discrimination?

— Should smokers pay higher health insurance premiums?

— Should similar employee bans be allowed, such as not hiring overweight people?